Cardboard Tube Pirate Ship with Sails

You will need

• Cardboard tubesTwo paper-towel tubes or four toilet-paper tubes
• Small cardboard box or thick cardboardFor the hull; cereal box or cracker box works well

  Use a box that held food or household goods, not one that held cleaning products; wipe the inside clean.

• White school glueOne bottle; plus tape as backup while glue dries
• Scotch tape or masking tapeFor bracing masts while glue sets
• Adult scissorsAdult cuts with child directing for hull shaping; child cuts sails
• White paperThree sheets for sails and flag
• Washable markers or watercolor paintFor decorating sails and hull
• RuleroptionalFor scoring fold lines on cardboard
• Washable tempera paintoptionalBlack or brown for painting the hull

Steps

1. 1

   Plan the ship shape together

   Sit with the child and look at the materials. Ask them to describe the shape of a ship's hull — pointed at the front, wider in the middle, flat on the bottom. Sketch it roughly on the cardboard together, then let them refine the outline. They should feel like the designer.

   Tip: A bow that curves up at the front looks great and gives a natural place to attach a paper figurehead later.

2. 2

   Cut and form the hull

   Adult cuts along the child's outline with adult scissors if the cardboard is thick. If using a cereal box, the child can cut with regular scissors. For a 3D hull with sides, score and fold two side panels from extra cardboard and tape them along the bottom edge to create depth. The ship should be able to sit upright.

   Tip: A hull about 10–12 inches (25–30 cm) long gives enough deck space for two masts without looking crowded.

3. 3

   Attach the masts

   Help the child stand a cardboard tube upright near the center of the hull and mark where it should go. Apply a generous ring of white school glue to the base of the tube and press it into position. Brace it with two loops of tape or two small cardboard triangles glued at the base. Repeat for the second mast. Let glue set for at least 10 minutes before the child adds sails.

   Tip: Stuffing a tight wad of scrap paper into the hull around the base of the tube adds friction and keeps it straight while drying.

4. 4

   Make and decorate the sails

   Have the child cut two or three sail shapes from white paper — they can be rectangular or triangular. Before attaching them, let the child draw or paint pirate imagery on the sails: a skull-and-crossbones, waves, sea creatures. Watercolor or washable markers both work; watercolor gives a translucent wind-filled look.

   Tip: Slightly trapezoid shapes (wider at the top) look more like real square-rigged sails than plain rectangles.

5. 5

   Attach sails to masts

   Show the child how to fold a 1/4-inch (about half a centimeter) tab along the left edge of each sail and glue or tape it to the mast tube. Two sails per mast staggered at different heights looks good and is structurally stable. The child can adjust the angle of the sails so they look like they're catching wind.

   Tip: If the sail won't lie flat against the tube, a small piece of tape on the back holds it in position while glue sets.

6. 6

   Decorate the hull and add a flag

   Let the child paint or draw on the hull — a name for the ship along the side, portholes, a waterline. Cut a small triangle of paper for a flag, draw a skull-and-crossbones on it, and tape it to the top of the tallest mast. Ask the child to tell you the ship's name and its mission.

   Tip: Black washable tempera painted over brown gives a convincing dark wood effect; let the child dry-brush it on loosely.

Take it to the table

Materials checklist, the steps and the variations on one Letter page.